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Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

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Page 1: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Barbarian Invasions&

Medieval Fusion

The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Page 2: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Discuss Beowulf

Page 3: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Discuss Beowulf

• What makes the story attractive?

• Consider Beowulf as evidence of medieval fusion

• Interpret the three struggles (agons, p. 25) that Beowulf undertakes during the poem. See article by Tolkein in the back for more information

• Why do you suppose the author wrote down this story?

Page 4: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

When was the Beowulf poem first written?

A. C. 700

B. C. 800

C. C. 900

D. C. 1000

Page 5: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Where does the first part of the poem take place?

A. Scotland

B. England

C. Denmark

D. Frankia (France)

Page 6: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000
Page 7: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Barbarian Migrations 350-500

Page 8: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000
Page 9: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000
Page 10: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Sutton Hoo Burial Mounds

Page 11: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Sutton Hoo Burial Mask

Page 12: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Christian Evangelism among the English

550-700 CE

Page 13: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Raedwald• East Anglian King• Baptized 605• Died 625• Induced to adopt Christianity

by Ethelbert of Kent• Bretwalda• Both pagan and Christian

Page 14: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Burial Mounds in Sweden

Page 15: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Romano-Saxon Pottery

Page 16: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Stilicho: Vandal

and Roman Consulc. 400

Page 17: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Greek mythology on a Gallo-Roman plate

from 4th century

Page 18: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

“The Empire” c. 500 CE

Page 19: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Germanic Warriors

Dominated the Western Empire

from 400 CE onwards

Page 20: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

St. Augustine of Hippo

c. 400

Page 21: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Niccolo Machiavell

c. 1500

Page 22: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Edward GibbonDecline & Fall of

the Roman Empire

1776-1789

Page 23: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Barbarian Migrations 350-500

Page 27: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Aetius – Master of the Roman Army c. 450

Page 28: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

“The Empire” c. 500 CE

Page 29: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Augustine of Canterbury

c. 600

Page 30: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Ethelbert of Kent• Married Christian Bertha

of the Franks• Converted to Christianity

after arrival of Augustine in 597

• Bretwalda• Produced first vernacular

legal code in England

Page 31: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Medieval Fusion

The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Page 32: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Barbarian Invasions

• Continuity in the East

• Disruption in the West

• Explanations for the Fall of Rome– St Augustine– Machiavelli & Gibbon– Internal factors

• Christianity

• Crisis of the third century

– Exogenous factors• Growth of Germanic supergroups

Page 33: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Overview

• Features of Medieval Fusion– Barbarian cultures: Germans, Celts– The Judeo-Christian Culture– Classical institutions and traditions

• Discussion of Beowulf

Page 34: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Overview

• Features of Medieval Fusion– Barbarian cultures: Germans, Celts– The Judeo-Christian Culture– Classical institutions and traditions

• Discussion of Beowulf

Page 35: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

During the Middle Ages, several cultures fuse within Europe

• Barbarian– Germanic/Norse– Celtic– Gothic– Slavic

• Ancient– Roman– Greek– Middle Eastern

• Christian

Page 36: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Germanic Literature

• Literature as a source and its difficulties– Ancient literature: Tacitus - A Roman writes about Germania– Medieval literature: Beowulf, Njal’s Saga

• Glorification of warrior heroes– great fighters– overcome incredible odds– superhuman strength

• Often fatalistic in outlook; the inevitably of death• Love of gold and riches: plunder• Vengeance and retribution: law of the talion

– barbarian legal codes

Page 37: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Germanic Literature: Beowulf

• Composition of the poem • Sometime between 580 and 1000

• Based on oral tradition

• For public recitation– musical accompaniment– recited lyrically

• Written manuscript from 11th century

• Contains approximately 1/10th of all written Old English

Page 38: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Germanic Literature: Beowulf

• Pagan/Germanic Elements • Mythical monsters

• Norse gods

• Magical weapons

• Celebration of booty

• Heroism

• Fate and Mortality

• Kinship

Page 39: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Germanic Literature: Beowulf

• Christian Undertones • Moral anecdotes

• Warnings against excessive pride

• Tension with pagan themes

• The ephemeral nature of life

• Beowulf’s moral conscience

Page 40: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Barbarian Legal Codes

• Often include Ten Commandments as a preamble • Often written after conversion to Christianity• Money payments specified as punishment for

– breach of the king’s peace– remuneration for theft and acts of violence

• Money payments reflect higher value associated with members of upper class– acts of violence against members of the kings household

require higher fines than acts of violence against members of the earl’s household

Page 41: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Summary of Barbarian Cultures

• Rural or agrarian• Illiterate with exceptions• Strong kinship • Weak kingship• Social bonding

– guilds of mutual assistance– comitatus

• Violent and militaristic• Hero worship• Religion of magic and superstition

Page 42: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

The Classical Contribution• In Contrast to barbarian culture, the Greco-Roman

world was – more urban– less influenced by oral tradition

• an abundance of literature, such as philosophy, letters, and speeches,

were not stories

– could be much more introspective• reflections on the human condition

– classical humanism: focused on issues related to this life• little concern for the afterlife

– more systematic• legal codes were based on system of classification• administrative structures were hierarchical

Page 43: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

The Classical Contribution• The Greco Roman world preserved, modified, or enhanced

many of the greatest achievements of the ancient Near East (Sumeria, Egypt, the Hebrews)– mathematics/astronomy– philosophy/religion

• The classical world also developed forms of art and expression that were either scarce or totally absent in the barbarian tradition– theater– sculpture that accurately depicted the human form

• In general the classical world was much more literate than the barbarians who had virtually no institutions for the transmission of learning i.e. schools

Page 44: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Christian Culture• Provided a method for the transmission of the tradition of literacy

– precise theology: trinity and christology– administered by Church hierarchy

• Shared ideology– otherworldliness: emphasis on afterlife– resurrection/redemption– God’s intervention in human history

• Pliable and absorbing– Barbarian holidays – Roman organizational structure– Greek philosophy, rhetoric, and logic became embedded

Page 45: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Christian Culture

• Monasticism– emerged as a powerful social force in the fourth

through sixth centuries

– huge influence on Christian ideals

– institutional framework for the preservation of the Christian tradition

– the primary means of education between 500 and 1100 in the West

– preservation of classical texts

Page 46: Barbarian Invasions & Medieval Fusion The creation of a distinctly medieval culture: 300-1000

Summary

• After the fifth century the Byzantine Empire continued the Greco-Roman traditions with only minor influence from the barbarian invasions

• By contrast, the Western Empire became increasingly barbarian in outlook and culture so that many aspects of the classical culture perished from most of western Europe

• Monasteries played a vital role in the preservation of the classical tradition and particularly of the Roman tradition, which was not so highly valued in the Byzantine Empire